Federal employees were offered an early holiday gift this year from President Trump when he signed an executive order that relieved workers from their duties on Christmas Eve.

The decree issued on Tuesday on the White House’s website declared that every executive department and agencies operating within the government “shall be closed and their employees excused from duty on Monday.”

However, the order did give authority to individuals who run those departments and agencies to have some employees stay on the clock on Dec. 24.

“The heads of executive departments and agencies may determine that certain offices and installations of their organizations, or parts thereof, must remain open and that certain employees must report for duty on December 24, 2018, for reasons of national security, defense, or other public need,” the executive order stated.

The director of the Office of Personnel Management was authorized to carry out the mandate, the White House said.

Michael Cohen’s guilty plea and subsequent sentencing for campaign-finance violations and other crimes revived speculation about President Trump’s potential legal exposure — but some former Federal Election Commission members say neither of them necessarily committed a violation with hush-money payments to purported Trump paramours.

The salacious details of those payments, which have steadily come to light in the course of two investigations into Cohen and in turn compelled Trump to acknowledge his involvement, speak to somewhat of a grey area in campaign-finance law.

Top Democrats in recent days have suggested the violations amount to an “impeachable offense” and could even merit future prosecution. According to Cohen, Trump ordered him to make payments to Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels going into the 2016 presidential campaign.

But Trump said in an interview with Fox News’ Harris Faulkner on “Outnumbered Overtime” that the Cohen payments were “not a campaign finance violation.” He has previously tweeted that they were a “simple private transaction.”

“What he did was all unrelated to me except for the two campaign finance charges that are not criminal and shouldn’t have been on there,” Trump said of Cohen and the campaign-finance charges. “They put that on to embarrass me.”

“John Kelly will be leaving at the end of the year, we will be announcing who will be taking John’s place, it might be on an interim basis, I’ll be announcing that over the next day or two,” Trump said of Kelly, the former Homeland Security secretary.

Ayers, Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff, was considered to be a shoo-in for the position, but he announced he’s leaving the administration at the end of the year instead.

“I am in the process of interviewing some really great people for the position of White House Chief of Staff,” Trump said in a Dec. 9 tweet. “Fake News has been saying with certainty it was Nick Ayers, a spectacular person who will always be with our [Make America Great Again] agenda. I will be making a decision soon!”

The new White House chief of staff will enter the Trump administration at a pivotal moment, faced with the challenges of securing the president’s re-election and fending off inquiries once Democrats gain control of the House next year.

KC is comfortable with his decision to retire. “I don’t want to do this anymore,” he said. “It’s time to go. I’m done. I have done as much as I can. It’s time for me to get going.”

In retirement, KC plans to renew and expand his commitments to civic organizations like the Masons and the Kiwanis Club. He plans to increase his involvement in his church and make up lost time with his children and his granddaughter. In June, he and his wife, Brenda, are planning a four-month road trip to Alaska in their 5th-wheel travel trailer.

KC’s visibly relaxed now and, as with anyone whose livelihood depended for so many years on not offending voters, he’s now ready to let his hair down and express his sense of humor. For his future career plans, KC said, he’s thinking about becoming a professional troublemaker. “I want them to pay me to do it,” he said.

“I want to become a professional provocateur,” he said.The dictionary defines “provocateur” as a “person who provokes trouble, causes dissension, an agitator….”

Three decades ago, Navajo County Sheriff Glenn Flake presented KC with his badge.

KC has been mentoring Dave Clouse, hoping the Board of Supervisors will appoint him sheriff when KC retires on February 12. Clouse’s grandfather is Glenn Flake. “So I get to give the badge back to the family that gave me that chance,” KC said.

The Black Mesa Ranger District on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests plans to conduct a prescribed burn within the Fulton Timber Sale area to the south of Highway 260, West of Forest Road 512, and North of Forest Road 912E. The burn area is located within Township 11N, Range 14 East, and Sections 32 and 33, and Township 10.5N, Range 14E, Sections 23 and 24.

Half of this project area (663 acres) was completed in October of this year. About 500 acres still remain and the district plans to burn on December 4, 2018. The intent is to burn remaining slash piles created from logging operations. Ignition depends on the weather.

Smoke will be seen from Highways 260, the Young Highway (Forest Road 512), and from the community of Forest Lakes. Smoke may also be visible from the Colcord and Ponderosa Estates area below the Mogollon Rim. There may be light to moderate impacts within the area throughout the remainder of the week and should decrease significantly each evening after the primary ignition occurs.

Once ignition occurs, crews will be on scene from ignition until there is no longer a threat of escape from the project boundaries.